China

The People's Republic of China 🇨🇳 (commonly referred as "China" or "Mainland China") is an East Asian country which practices Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, with some minorities practicing Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

This article only discusses censorship in mainland China. See Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan for censorship there.

General censorship[]

Its censorship system is the most visible for the following factors:

China is a big (even if nominally) communist country and export market, so the producers want their works to make it there as they can.
China is very authoritarian and paternalistic and thus, the government has a lot of power and inclination to ban anything it deems having a bad influence on the people.

Media censorship in mainland China is generally handed by the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), with a strict pass-fail rating system similar to the Hays Code: either the film is appropriate for all ages, or is rejected, without any ratings in-between. Like many other countries, the censor board's failure to rate a film equals to a ban. The criteria for passing often are arbitrary, vague or secret, so is not easy to determine in advance what will pass muster, fostering an industry of self-censorship. However, this system does little to stop domestic consumption of foreign works in China, due to piracy being huge in the country, which cannot be prevented mostly. The bans are seldom enforced and banned works can be bought at flea markets and experience a rising popularity due to a Streisand effect.

Any work criticizing the government, makes fun of China or the China as whole or reference the most unpleasant events in China's history (such as the ones involving the Communist Party of China, as well as the Second Sino-Japanese War) or even risk inciting a revolution that could lead to the overthrow of the Communist government in favor of democracy is banned as well.

Anything that refers Taiwan as an independent country is banned (including displaying the flag of Taiwan, unless used in rare instances and historical context), since the Communist Party of China and Chinese nationalists view the island as a province of China.

Any work created by supporters of Tibet, Hong Kong or Taiwan independence might be banned. Only mentioning these territories, even non-provocatively, is a warrant to cause the CCP to threaten to stop doing business with the offending third party. With China's massive population and growing economy, foreign media producers wanting a piece of massive official market in China became increasingly willing to censor or edit their own works seeking approval of the Chinese censorship board. The rules apply both to domestic and foreign media, with local producers getting the extra burden of constant executive meddling at every stage of production, consequently, making Chinese productions very linear and watered-down.

Some media supposed to be banned in China are not banned at all, usually due to mistranslations courtesy of lack of independent verification and language barrier between China and the West.

This censorship policy only applies in mainland China. Hong Kong and Macau, being Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic, are not governed by this scheme; having their own, independent rating systems, explaining how some works can be shown in Hong Kong but not in the mainland. However, in the 2020s, in Hong Kong, China started to take more control of free speech and expression within the region, 30 years ahead of the agreement to allow Hong Kong to self-govern until 2047.

Hentai (and basically, any pornographic material) is banned in China. However, this did not stop some local fans from importing hentai anime and manga into the country through the black market or access it via VPN though to the point where some made hentai of their own as a protest.

Any works which criticize or undermine the government, make fun of China or the Chinese as a whole, reference the more unpleasant events in China's history (particularly ones involving the Communist Party of China, as well as the Second Sino Japanese War, which remain a sore point between China and Japan), or even risk inciting a revolution that could depose the totalitarian government in favor of democracy. LGBT content puts the work at risk of being banned, for fear it could change people's sexual orientation, though Danmei/Dangai and Baihe (Chinese version of the Boys Love and Girls Love genre respectively) are highly popular in the country, with multiple adaptations in manhua (Chinese comics), donghua (Chinese animation) and live-action even being produced from novels, until the Chinese Government intervened in the rising popularity of Danmei and created tighter regulations regarding the portrayal of men in media. This resulted in nearly all Danmei novels being locked on online platforms and having many Danmei/Dangai adaptations either quietly removed or in development hell. Baihe, on the other hand, is left untouched.

Any works created by someone who supports independence for Tibet, Hong Kong, Xinjiang or Taiwan might result in a ban (Suprisingly, nothing is said about Mongolia, Inner Mongolia or Macau, even if the same rule is applied there). Sometimes, even mentioning any of these territories, even in a non-provocative context, is enough to cause the CCP to at least threaten to stop doing business with the offending third party.

Movie censorship[]

General[]

China's media legislation is also known for its quotas of foreign films allowed to be screened in the country per year as means of protectionism.

China automatically "bans", that is, puts a quota, on all non-Chinese movies, only giving special permits for a fixed number of foreign films shown per year. In theory, this protects their domestic film industry from bigger-budget foreign competition, but in practice, it has spawned a massive and well-established market for pirated foreign moves. China also uses the ban to pressure Hollywood studios to include favorable depictions of the country in films and discourage anything portraying the nation in a bad light. PEN America has published a report on the pervasive influence the Chinese government has come to have on Hollywood studios seeking to circumvent this. Some individual cinema managers will have unofficial ratings for films which could otherwise pass, but these are relatively rare and separate from government sanctioning.

Ratings[]

China does not have a rating system. Only films that are passed as "suitable for all ages" are released, even though some distributors introduced informal ratings. A March 2017 effective law on film does require non-violation of the lawful rights and the interests of minors (Chinese: 未成年人) or harming the physical and psychological health of minors. However, in an interview on CCTV in that same month, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television's film chief Zhang Hongsen said it was inaccurate for the media to label the guideline for minors as manual/euphemistic classification and it was a misinterpretation or oversimplification of the new law.

Instances of movie censorship[]

Sorrows of the Forbidden City - this film made by Hong Kong Wing Wah Pictures in December 1948 and started to be screened in Beijing and Shanghai on March 1950. However, the film was banned on 3 May 1950 due to Mao Zedong badmouthing it as a "traitorous film"^[1].
The Life of Wu Xun - this 1950 film was criticized by the People's Daily on a 20 May 1951 editorial entitled "The Discussion of the Film 'The Life of Wu Xun' Should be Taken Seriously" for promoting bourgeois reformism^[2]. Director Sun Yu and actor Zhao Dan both wrote self-critical articles about the film alongside dozens of other people^[3]. In mid-November 2005, at the "Film Retrospective" held at the Shanghai Film Art Center in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Zhao Dan's birth, the film was publicly screened as an "internal screening", considered by the media to be the first showing of the film since being banned for many years^[4]. On 15 March 2012, the film was released for the first time by Guangdong Da Sheng Culture Communication Co., Ltd. for public sale, but with a "For research" label on the cover of the boxset deliberately to avoid the residual political risks^[5].
In a Twinkling - this film, produced in 1976 by Changchun Film Studio, written by Peng Ning, He Kongzhou and Song Ge, had its public screening of the film shelved by the Ministry of Culture due to the People's Liberation Army Air Force thinking that it vilified the image of the Army and could affect the recruitment of the Air Force. In November 1980, coinciding with the public trial of Lin Biao and Jiang Qing, In a Twinkling was screened, but the film was quickly downgraded due to the audience being too small^[6].
Boat People - this 1982 Hong Kong film was banned in mainland China due to violence against Vietnamese refugees (known also as "boat people") and the film's anti-Communist sentiments^[7]. However, the Hong Kong version of the DVD was released in China in 2008^[8].
The Emperor's Shadow - this film was shortly released due to a decision of the CMPC to release it shortly in five cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Chengdu. On the fourth day of its release, the relevant personnel ordered to dispose of the film. A day later, the relevant documents were sent to all the authorities, and all distribution, screening and promotion activities were stopped^[9]. The Emperor's Shadow then disappeared from Chinese cinemas and media. A year or so later, the film had its ban overturned and was broadcast on CCTV, and is also available on the Internet as a legitimate source^[10].
Sun and Man - this film, directed by Peng Ning of Changchun Film Studio, based on Bai Hua's 1979 work "Bitter Love" , was submitted for review, but in 1981 it caused political criticism due to an "anti-Party" character^[11] and it could not be released^[12].
Wind of Early Summer - this film was shot in 1982, but was later banned for reasons unknown^[13]^[14].
The Blue Kite - this film (filmed in 1992), which revolved around several political movements in the early years of the People's Republic of China and entered in the 1993 Tokyo Film Festival without passing the censorship, resulting into the Chinese film delegation boycotting by withdrawing from the festival^[15].
Temptress Moon was promoted in the United States as "a seductive new film so provocative it was banned in its own country". As pointed out by a writer to Roger Ebert's Movie Answer Man column, "considering that its own country is China, that's not a big deal".
Most of Zhang Yimou's films were banned (see below). To Live has never been shown in China, due to negative portrayals of Maoism and the Cultural Revolution; Said film also got Zhang himself banned from making films for two years. Other of his films such as Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern were released after serving a couple of years in the Chinese film jail.

Any discussion about the oppression of the Tibetans or the Tiananmen Square massacre (if it is in media or not) is a warrant for an arrest and scrutiny by the Chinese government. The government-approved textbooks will only give them cursory mentions if at all. Among films banned for addressing these topics:

The Gate of Heavenly Palace - this film, which deals with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, was strongly boycotted by Chinese officials, who demanded its withdrawal from the New York Film Festival. The documentary was only screened in Hong Kong^[16].
Seven Years in Tibet - this 1997 film is banned as the Chinese government believes that it distorts the facts and vilifies the PLA, publishing examples on the China Tibet website: the PLA generals did not fly to Tibet and there are no Tibetans who died by the end of the film (according to local government statistics, the total population of Tibet is only 1 million people). The two stars, Brad Pitt and David Thewlis were also banned. The director Jean-Jacques Arnaud was banned as well, but has since invited to make The Wolf Totem, a movie about Inner Mongolian culture.
Kundun - this film produced by Disney and set in Tibet, is also banned from China for depicting China negatively in relation to annexation of Tibet by China in 1959. The Chinese government considers the Dalai Lama as a separatist leader and a threat to Chinese control on the Himalayan region, and officials objected to his positive portrayal. The film's director Martin Scorsese and the late writer Melissa Mathison were banned as well. Disney produced and distributed the film despite the objections voiced by China during production, which caused the Chinese government to temporarily ban every Disney film. Besides of that, it was a box office bomb, putting Disney in hot water with China regarding Mulan. The film was unbanned in 1999 with the release of Mulan, with the studio issuing an apology during the early negotiation process to build Shanghai Disney Resort. Years later, Disney tried to clear their name off the film by refusing to put it on Disney+, sublicensing its North American Blu-ray release to home video distributor Kino Lorber incognito.
The Sun Behind the Clouds - this film was banned because the Chinese government considers it to be a documentary film on Tibetan independence. The Chinese director Lu Chaun and others withdrew from the Palm Springs International Film Festival after they were informed of the film's participation.
The 10 Conditions of Love - This film was banned because the Chinese government accuses lead actress Rebiya Kadeer (an ethnic Uygur) of being the leader of the "Xinjiang Independence" and "East Turkistan" forces in exile. After the 5 July Incident in Urumqi in 2009, the consul of the Cultural Department of the Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne found out that the documentary film would be screened at the Melbourne International FIlm Festival and personally phone called the festival's director and executive director, Richard Moore, requesting that the film be taken down from the festival, only to the latter refusing. After the film's screening, a number of Chinese directors such as Jia Zhangke, Tang XIaobai and Zhao Liang, announced their departure from the festival^[17]^[18].
While The Wolf Totem film was not banned, The book would have been banned, as its author Jiang Rong was arrested and imprisoned due to his participation in the 1989 Tiananmen protests, which is why he remained reclusive despite his novel's success.
Brokeback Mountain - while this movie is banned in China for its depiction of homosexuality, China celebrated Ang Lee's winning of an Oscar for said movie as a triumph for Chinese people, even though Ang Lee is from Taiwan. However, China also censored Lee's Academy Award for Best Director acceptance speech for references to homosexuality^[19].

Any movie directed by Chloé Zhao, including Nomadland has been expunged by the Chinese government after a 2013 interview where she stated that China "is a place where there are lies everywhere".

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl - this drama film based on Geling Yan's 1981 short story "Celestial Bath", was banned due to its content involving sensitive subjects of the Cultural Revolution and containing nude scenes. As a result of the ban, its director Joan Chen was banned from filming for three years for "illegally making films and participation in exhibitions abroad".
Ten Years - this Hong Kong film is banned in China for its bleak depiction of Hong Kong under Beijing's control. The broadcast of the 35th Hong Kong Film Award, where this film was honored for best film, was also banned in mainland China for the same reason. The Global Times, a newspaper which is the mouthpiece of the CCP, criticised the film as a "prophetic fantasy" and "an extremely pessimistic account of Hong Kong in 2025" and directed it "to promote despair".
Inside the DMZ - this Korean War film shot in at the August 1st Film Studio, during the period of diplomatic relations between China and the USA and the 9/11 attacks, was not screened along with "Resisting the U.S. in Korea", produced in the same year.
Suzhou River - this film about a tragic love story was released on 7 September 2000 in Hong Kong and won the Golden Tiger Award at the 29th Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Best Film Award at the 15th Paris International Film Festival., was banned by the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) from being screened in mainland China as it was not submitted for review and joined the foreign film festivals.
Kiss of the Dragon - this action film starring Jet Li and Bridget Fonda was reported as being planned to be released in China, but was not released allegedly due to its controversial murder scenario.
Shaolin Soccer - this film by Stephen Chow, which was a co-production between China and Hong Kong, was prohibited from being screened in mainland China due to being released in Hong Kong before its approval by the SARFT. The main producers of Shaolin Soccer have also suspended the various film business of Hong Kong Xinghui Company and Huanyu Company in the mainland.

Trivisa - This Hong Kong film is believed to be banned in China because Jevons Au (who directed Ten Years) is one of the three directors in this film. Mentions of the film at the Hong Kong Film Awards, at which it won five awards including Best Picture, were also censored in mainland China. It is speculated that the reason of the ban were because the film dealt with sensitive topics such as corruption and arms dealing in mainland China^[20]^[21].
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End can be shown in China only if every scene featuring Sao Feng is edited or modified to remove him, as said character is deemed as "negative portrayal" of the Chinese.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - this film was banned in China due to featuring spirits swarming around as well depictions of cannibalism^[22].
The Horse Thief - this film was approved for public release only in 1994, having to wait eight months. Ultimately, director Tian Zhuangzhuang told officials that he would re-edit the film to their specifications, working under a close supervision of two censors to cut footage, including portions of a sky burial. Tian felt that the process was an "insult", turning temporarily to commercial filmmaking out of frustration with the censors. The released film was later withdrawn.
Ju Dou - this film was banned upon initial release in 1990, but it was overturned when the Chinese government gave permission for its viewing in July of that same year.
Mama - this film by Zhang Yuan about a mother and her mentally challenged adult son was released in China after it was banned for two years.
Life on a String - this film by Chen Kaige was banned altogether.
Raise the Red Lantern - this film was banned in China, until three years later, when it helped raise their tourism.
I Have Graduated - this documentary was banned due to being about some university students who experienced the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
Beijing Bastards - this film by Zhang Yuan was banned due to subjects involving homosexuality and alienated young people.
Farewell My Concubine - this film was objected due to its portrayal of homosexuality, suicide and violence perpetrated under Mao Zedong's Communist government during the Cultural Revolution. It premiered in Shanghai in July 1993, but was removed from theatres after two weeks for further censorial review and subsequently banned in August. As the film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the ban was met with international outcry. The officials, feeling there was no "choice" and fearing that China's bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics would be hurt, allowed the film to resume public showings in September. This release featured a censored version, in which scenes dealing with the Cultural Revolution and homosexuality were excised and the final scene was doctored to "soften the blow of the suicide".
To Live - this film was banned due to its critical portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Communist government, which led the director Zhang Yimou banned from filmmaking for two years. The ban on his films was overturned only in September 2008, after Zhang directed the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics opening ceremony.
The Square - this documentary by Zhang Yuan was banned in 1994 and Zhang (who directed the above mentioned Mama and Beijing Bastards) from filmmaking in the earlier in the year.
Weekend Lover - this 1995 film by Lou Ye revolving around a young man released from prison seeking his old girlfriend who began a relationship with a young musician, was initially banned for two years, and then released in 1997.
Father (Baba/Babu) - this film by writer Wang Shuo (which was his only directorial effort) based on his own novel Wo Shi Ni Baba (I Am Your Father), despite having partial backing by the state-run Beijing Film Studio, it was banned during years of bureaucratic red tape, as it was seen as an interpretation of as deconstruction of authority in China. However, the film won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Festival in 2000.
East Palace, West Palace - this film was banned due to subjects involving homosexuality and alienated young people.
Babe: Pig in the City - this film was banned due to the censors having a policy that speaking live-action animals were not allowed to be depicted.
Lan Yu - this film was banned for homosexuality, references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, and depiction of corruption in Beijing entrepreneurs.
Conjugation - this film directed by Emily Tang was banned for being about the challenges of a young couple in the post-1989 Tiananmen Square protests era.
The Dark Knight - Warner Bros refused this movie to be screened in China due to its portrayal of the Chinese criminal accountant Lau and implying that Hong Kong police are corrupt, for fear of offending the Chinese. However, is one of the most popular bootleg DVD titles in China.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - banned for depicting China as having "secret societies".
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life - The reviewer told the media that he thought the film was maligning the image of the Chinese, as if all Chinese people were engaged in tomb raiding and Simon Yam was portrayed as a lowlife or scum, and that it was extremely ignorant of Chinese culture, and that Chinese social security was unrealistic, with the Triads even being openly present^[23]. China became the only country in Asia to ban the film^[24].
Memoirs of a Geisha - This film, originally scheduled for approval in November 2005, but the SARFT failed to issue a screening permit in January 2006. When a reporter asked whether the film passed the censorship process, the person in charge of the CMPC replied "no comment". After 25 January, Mao Yu, director of the Film Council's publicity department deemed the film "sensitive and complex", with the media pointing out Zhang Ziyi's role involving the plot of nude and prostitute, also a scene in which she bathes with a Japanese man as reason for the ban, alongside the fact it was totally unacceptable in China for a Chinese woman to play a Japanese geisha^[25]^[26].
Summer Palace - this film was rejected by the Film Office for "technical reasons"^[27] and the film's director, Lou Ye and produced Nai An, were fined by the Film Office on 1 September 2006 due to them participating at the 59th Cannes Film Festival without having a public release permit, in violation of the Regulations on the Administration of Movies^[28].
Lost in Beijing - this film was granted a public release permit and its public release version was an audited version, but its online version, DVD version, and overseas version contained unaudited scenes. The film was accused of violating the Regulations on the Administration of Movies and the Advertising Law, including adding unaudited pornographic clips to the online and DVD versions, using unaudited versions to participate in overseas film festivals, and for advertising reasons^[29]. The main penalties include: revocation of the public screening license, confiscation of the unaudited copies of the films and related materials, suspension of their distribution and screening, and cessation of their online distribution; cancellation of Beijing Laureate Film's film production license for two years; and restriction of Laureate Film's legal representative Fang Li from engaging in related film business for two years^[30].
Shinjuku Incident - this film starring Jackie Chan was a co-production, but it failed to pass the inspection of the Film Office due to the gory and violent scenes and the filmmakers thought that editing them would affect the whole plot, so they gave up editing and did not sent the film for review^[31].
Mao's Last Dancer - This film dealing with the defection of Li Cunxin, which shocked Chinese and American authorities in 1981, was not allowed to be screened in China due to political sensitivity^[32].
Piercing I - This animated film, according to the director, Ms. Miriam, he was not aware of the film industry at the time and was not aware "to apply the Dragon Label", so he did not prepare the film in advance, neither planned to obtain a film public screening permit for the film. The film premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France on 12 June 2010 and later won the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
The Ditch - This film about the story of more than 3000 people who were sent to Jiabiangou labor camp in Gansu Province due to the anti-rightist movement from 1957 to 1960, and more of them starved to death, participated in the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Due to its cruel plot, it did not obtain a public screening license in China and circulated through pirated copies.
Mission: Impossible III - the movie gave concerns to the government, as it depicts the Chinese police as incompetent and shows poor living conditions in Chinese villages, as well one scene where graffiti advertising a document forgery service (which is a big business in China) can be glimpsed. However, it was re-included in the Warner Home Video DVD release.
The Lady - this biopic about Aung San Suu Kyi starring Michelle Yeoh, was alleged that some of the contents were involved in violations and the news, footage and videos of the film were not allowed to be promoted and advertised in any form.
KANO - A picture of this movie, which centers around the story of the Kano baseball team during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan, was circulated on Sina Weibo showing a notice from the censorship department of Hainan Province, which requested the province not to speculate on the Taiwanese film Kano and its victory of the 51st Golden Horse Awards, nor to broadcast live video and graphics of the awards ceremony that day. Said notice was forwarded from an order from the publicity department of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. A Guangdong TV station told Ming Paothat the Golden Horse Film Festival had a tendency to glorify Japan and did not mention the title of the KANO film. Director Ma Zhixiang claimed that he was unaware that the film had been banned by the Chinese authorities, but also said that it was a Taiwanese story and did not care if it was blocked.
Human Harvest - This documentary about organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China was stated by the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva as being "so absurd as to be not worth refuting" when trying to refute the allegations of organ harvesting. The content of the documentary has not been reported in major Chinese media and is suspected to be banned.
The Chinese Mayor - This documentary dealing with the sensitive issue of the demolition of the city of Daitong was banned by the Chinese government. The actual then-mayor of Datong, Geng Yanbo, could only be likened in the Chinese media to Li Dakang, the secretary of a municipal Party Committee Secretary in another related drama film, In the Name of the People.
Under the Dome - this documentary film about air pollution in China from the perspective of haze, which as of 2 March 2015 had the total number of views on major video websites in China was about to exceed 200 millions, was completely blocked by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party on 3 March for reasons unknown.
Behemoth - this documentary film by Zhao Liang was featured in the media as a finalist in the main competition of the 72nd Venice Film Festival in 2015, was banned by the local government of Inner Mongolia through the national security system due to the film exposing pneumoconiosis in the Inner Mongolia mines, making the film available only on small-scale screening in Beijing.
V for Vendetta - From August 2020, the movie was removed from China's major online video platforms, such as iQiyi, Tencent Video, Sohu, Douban and Maoyan, due to anti-government themes. The Guy Fawkes mask worn by the film character V has been used as a symbol in the anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong. The film was never screened in Chinese theatres, but it was unclear whether it had been banned prior to 2020. State-owned China Movie Channel surprised viewers back in 2012 by airing it, leading to false hopes about censorship reform. An article on the Communist party's China Youth Daily website said it was previously prohibited from broadcast, but the Association Press quoted the then censor's spokesman Wu Baoan, who said he was not aware of any ban.

It is commonly believed that China bans every film concerning time travel, as Chinese culture holds its ancestors in high regard that it will not allow depicting them that will be somewhat inaccurate. Actually they don't ban it outright, but they have a guideline discouraging it, including a recommendation that filmmakers no longer adapt the Four Great Classical Novels (Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin and Dream of the Red Chamber) either.

Back to the Future - this film was banned due to time travel.
Avatar - While it was released in China, its 2D version was pulled quickly from cinemas afterwards, even if was the most popular film shown in China ever. It was rumoured that this was because the film's message could inspire oppressed Chinese citizens, but in part was because it was eating into the profit margin of a state-funded biopic of Confucius that was running concurrently. The Chinese government never had a problem with the 3D version, though.

Fifty Shades of Grey - while not banned, the studio did not even released the film there, knowing that it would not get past the censor board. Ironically, its sequels were co-produced between the US, Japan and China and were allowed to be shown in China without the first film being officially released.

Sausage Party - this film was not released in China for the same reasons as Deadpool: raunchy, profane, violent and animated. Between the inevitable censorship and the equally inevitable angry parents taking their kids to see it (as in China animation is usually thought as for kids), it was deemed safer to not release the film at all.

Pixels - A scene showing the aliens blowing a hole in the Great Wall of China was removed out of fears that the movie could get banned.

Deadpool - not released in China, as the producers claimed it would been impossible to cut all the violence, sex and profanities ending up with anything resembling a coherent film.

Deadpool 2 - This movie was also not released for the same reason above. However, Once Upon a Deadpool (a Christmas-themed, PG-13-rated re-edit of "Deadpool 2'') was mainly done to secure a release in China. It was released there on 25 January 2019.

Suicide Squad - Warner Bros. changed the title of the film to "Special Taskforce X" to take in account China's situation, but it was soon announced that the film had not been approved. A source closer to the China Film Group Corporation (CFGC) said that "they (SAPPRFT) did not consider the film suitable for distribution in China". The media suggested that the reason behind this may be the regulations of the SAPPRFT, which prohibit the promotion of negative and demoralising values.
A Taxi Driver - this 2017 South Korean film about a German journalist who accidentally takes a taxi driver in Seoul experiencing the Gwangju democracy movement together, generated a lot of discussion on Douban, as well as associations with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre due to the characters in the drama. The Beijing's Internet Information Office ordered that all websites, wikis and reviews to be deleted, resulting in the entire network being blocked.
Christopher Robin - this movie was not released due to falling outside of the quota on foreign film. Many speculate that the ban is partially due to the censorship of the comparisons of Winnie-the-Pooh and Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping. However, another theory suggested that the film was denied due to several Hollywood tentpole films competing for space in the foreign film quota.
Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey - While this film never even considered for a release in China, it was pulled by the distributors from a Hong Kong and Macau release at the very last minute. It was speculated that this was because of the censorship of the character after comparisons made with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Concerns over China's censorship and control of Hong Kong and Macau, which have already been rising, have grown even more after this.
Joker (2019) - this film was not cleared for release in China.
Monster Hunter - banned after being flooded with negative reviews after a Chinese character made a pun about "Chi-knees", reminiscent of the "Japanese, Chinese, dirty knees" schoolyard rhyme used by Americans to insult Chinese and Japanese immigrants. The subtitles, however, interpreted as there is gold under a man's knees, so man should not easily kneel. The film was removed from circulation, and Chinese authorities censored references to it online. Tencent Pictures, which is handling local distribution and is an equity partner in the film, is reported to be remedying the situation, but it remains unclear if the movie would then be re-released.
Fight Club had its ending completely removed, replaced with a caption which states that the police successfully intervened and arrested everyone. This prompted backlash and the film's original ending was subsequently restored. Chuck Palahniuk, the writer of the novel Fight Club mocked the decision, but later went on to say that ironically was closer to the book's version of events.
Friends - the 2021 reunion special was edited to remove Lady Gaga (who was banned from China due to her pictures with the Dalai Lama on Instagram), Justin Bieber (who was banned because of his reckless behaviour during a visit to the Great Wall and his arrests for DUIs) and BTS (after backlash from Chinese citizens after RM endorsed the alliance between United States and South Korea during the Korean War, as well the fact that China and North Korea have great relations with eachother) when it was streamed on Chinese video websites.
Inside the Red Brick Wall - this sold-out theatrical premiere of the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests documentary featuring the siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University was cancelled.
Where the Wind Blows - this film's world premiere at the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival was pulled for "technical reasons".
Missing Johnny - this film was banned due to its lead actor, Lawerence Ko, being accused of being a pro-Taiwan independence artist. The crew confirmed to the distributor that the film was prohibited to be screened and the Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed the news at a press conference as well.
From Beijing with Love - this film was is banned in China for referencing the Tiananmen Square Massacre. During the ending, Ling Ling-Chat's blade (a weapon portrayed in the film for slaughtering pigs) is emblazoned with the calligraphy of Deng Xiaoping "Hero of the Nation", a title given to the squad that participated in said massacre.
Detention - this supernatural psychological horror film was banned for dealing with white terror politics.
Do Not Split - this documentary about the Hong Kong protest was banned due to being related to the protests in Hong Kong and due to the selection of the documentary for the Academy Awards. The Propaganda Department of the CCP ordered major media to keep a low profile and cancel the live broadcast. The CCTV also suspended the live broadcast of the Oscars.
Revolution of Our Times - this documentary about the Hong Kong Independence position was regarded by Beijing as a slogan for Hong Kong independence due to the four words in the title, "revolution of our times". Director Kiwi Chow already knew he violated the law, so he did not submit his film to the OFNAA for review, nor did any major media in China reported it.
Minions: The Rise of Gru - the Chinese release of this film had its ending revised with a message saying that Wild Knuckles was caught by police and served 20 years in jail, pursued his love of acting and started his own theater troupe, while Gru has returned to his family^[33].
Bohemian Rhapsody - this biopic about Freddie Mercury and his band, Queen, was approved for a limited release after one minute of content involving drug use and the male lead character, Freddie Mercury kissing other men cut. The approval follows public outcry over a local streaming company censoring the phrase "gay man" from Rami Malek's acceptance speech at the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal as Mercury in the film.
Despicable Me 2 - this film was initially banned in China, but was allowed to be released in December 2013.
Lord of War - the Chinese release of this film has the final 30 minutes from the film cut, replaced with a text screen summary stating that Yuri Orlov confessed to all crimes and was sentenced to life in prison.

The first three films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Four series of films were banned for different reasons:
- Black Widow - when the film was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the filmmakers reshot the film to make its "girl power" message a bit more overt. When the film was finally released, it was banned because China was cracking down everything that promoted radical feminism, based on their observations of the ideology's destabilizing effect on Western countries.
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - despite having all the earmarks for appealing to a Chinese audience, early screenings of the film in China was panned by movie-goers who could clearly see the film was made to pander to them, and that Chinese censors were familiar with the source material and figured that, even though the film used positive stereotypes about Asians, they were still stereotypes which only applied to Asian-Americans rather than authentic Asians, combined with the immense dislike for lead actor Simu Liu by the mainland Chinese audiences, due to Liu calling China was a “third world” country where people die of starvation.
- Eternals - this film was banned because it was directed by Chloe Zhao, who, as stated above, had her work expunged in retaliation for her critical opinion of the Chinese Communist Party.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home - the Chinese government asked Sony Pictures to remove the Statue of Liberty from the film due to its resemblance to the Goddess of Democracy. Due to the fact that most of the film's climax featured the Statue, Sony Pictures refused, prompting the cut of "patriotic" shots. Sony sticked to their guns and the film was banned in China as a result.
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - This film was banned in China due to a scene in which a newspaper kiosk visibly bears the Chinese characters for ''The Epoch Times'', which opposes the CCP.
- Thor: Love and Thunder - This film was banned in China due to the character of Valkyrie being bisexual, as well for Korg's race (which is only male) involving a same-sex kiss to create a child.
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - This film was banned in China due to an implied lesbian romance between Akenda and Ayo. The film was eventually released on February 2023, just a week before Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which also received a Chinese release.
- Django Unchained - This film was initially banned in China. However, it got released on 12 May 2013, after scenes involving nudity, excessive violence and "politically sensitive" topics were edited out^[34].
- Men in Black 3 - this film had the scene featuring the Chinatown shootout with J memory-wiping the local Chinese population with his neuralyzer removed. An official reason was not given, but it is speculated by Chinese journalists that it was done to avoid any comment about parallels to their society.
- As Bob Chipman discussed in his video about Onward's lesbian character, according to him, it is inaccurate to blame China for American movies having only token-level LGBT representation. China actually has a long history of homosexual characters (the general Dongfang Bubai being one example of such character) and the background lesbian kiss in The Rise of Skywalker was actually left in the Chinese release without any controversy, He also says that while China has rules about what can be put in movies, they tend to enforce those rules arbitrarily and be more lenient towards Chinese films than foreign ones. This gives them more leverage at the negotiation table.
- China is not fond of non-Chinese animation which is set in or depicts China. Exceptions are:
  - Mulan (1998) - this Disney film saw a limited release in spite of predictions that it would be banned in retaliation for Disney financing Kundun. The Chinese dub even had Jackie Chan as the voice of Li Shang.
  - Kung Fu Panda - this Dreamworks film saw grat critical acclaim in China, leading the Chinese to wonder why they couldn't have made a movie like that themselves (The main reason for that is that traditional values in Confucianism are so strict in terms of avoiding conflict, in particular with one's elders, that many of the driving conflicts in the film world be inacceptable in China). The Chinese had this chance by co-producing Kung Fu Panda 3.
  - Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat was dubbed and aired by CCTV with no issues

While films depicting ghosts are often restricted due to the importance of ghosts in Chinese religion, Coco was an exception due to its emphasis on honoring one's ancestors and the similarities between Dia de los Muertos and Chinese traditions. Another exception was Spirited Away, which featured ghosts and other spirits and is a heavily beloved film in China. Its rerelease in 2019 even beat out multiple Hollywood blockbusters such as Spider-Man: Far from Home, Toy Story 4, and Men In Black International.

The Ten Commandments (1923) and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ were banned in the 1930s as "superstitious films" due to their religious subject matter involving gods and deities.
Frankenstein (1931) and Alice in Wonderland (1933) were banned in the 1930s as "superstitious films" due to their "strangeness" and unscientific elements.
Ben-Hur - this film was banned under the regime of Mao Zedong for "containing propaganda of superstitious beliefs, namely Christianity".
Crimson Peak - not released in China due to censorship guidelines discouraging films promoting "cults or superstition", which extends also to ghosts and supernatural beings depicted in realistic environments (except stories based on Chinese mythology, which are exempt from this). However, Chinese artist and social commentator Aowen Jin believed it more likely that the film was banned due to sexual content and incest.

Between 1st December and 7 December 2022, any foreign film was temporarily banned from being shown due to the death of former President Jiang Zemin^{[Notes 1]}.

Strange World - This film was not submitted by Disney to local authorities and its theatrical release was skipped in the country, tantamounting to a ban, due to the subplot regarding Ethan and Daizo's homosexual relationship in the film.

Blacklisted actors[]

China has a list of blacklisted actors who committed several misconduct, such as drug use, sex-related, etc. Any television shows or films that included them were edited to remove their appearances, had their credits edited out, were only released outside Chinese mainland, etc. Any of their works in China will be taken down. Two notable examples are:

Zhang Zhehan was blacklisted due to photos of him visiting Yasukuni Shrine circulating on the Chinese Internet.
Chinese-Canadian rapper, singer, actor and model Kris Wu due to his arrest after rape allegations. As a consequence, a Guandong KTV was fined for playing two of his songs.

TV censorship[]

The South Park episode "Band in China" mocked Chinese censorship standards, and in response, the Chinese government banned the series from airing there. Said episode was a critique of Hollywood for watering down their films to appease the Chinese government, featuring jabs at the Winnie the Pooh ban, Chinese work camps and the country's organ harvesting. The show creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's response was:
- "Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn't look just like Winnie the Pooh at all. Tune into our 300th episode this Wednesday at 10! Long live the great Communist Party of China. May the autumn's sorghum harvest be bountiful! We good now China?" (in the very next episode, which doubles as a tirade, Randy Marsh shouts "F**k the Chinese government!".
Yaoi anime were suppressed, banned and regulated in mainland China (and to a certain extent, to Hong Kong) for fears that "reading too much [yaoi] material would change [girls'] sexual orientation somehow".

Death Note was banned in China due to allegations of the government that it incited anarchy and insubordination, after some kids and teens were caught using ripoff notebooks to make hit lists. However, it was dubbed in Cantonese and aired in Hong Kong.
Chernobyl was banned in China after Chinese netizens compared the USSR's mishandling of the Chernobyl nuclear plant to the CCP's similar mishandling of the Coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, any discussion involving them will be immediately censored.

Code Geass was once banned in China for its themes of rebellion and dignity of oppressed minorities. The second season, Code Geass R2: Lelouch of the Rebellion portrays China as a nation of starving citizens oppressed by a group of power-hungry creeps using the 12-year-old heir to the throne as their puppet (even that is a reference to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms) before the Japanese led by Zero, a Britannian prince, incite a revolution to overthrow them, which did not help matters. Allegedly, the real reason it got banned was because of the nudity scenes. However, the ban on the anime was lifted in 2008.

In 2015, the Chinese government started to cracking down on violent anime and manga both in print and the internet. These include Blood-C, Psycho-Pass, Attack on Titan, High School Of The Dead, Tokyo Ghoul, Deadman Wonderland, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, among others.

My Hero Academia was banned preceded by backlash from local viewers after it was leaked that an evil scientist previously know as the Doctor's real name would be "Maruta Shiga", as "Maruta" was the Japanese code name for human experimentation conducted during Unit 731 during World War II, opening some old wounds for the Chinese government. Kohei Morikoshi - the author - and the publisher issued an apology and promised to change the name, but the damage was already done.

Twin Princess of Wonder Planet - The first 26 episodes of this anime were dubbed in Chinese under the name of "Mysterious Planet Twin Princesses" (神秘星球孪生公主) and were aired in CCTV-14 on 27 March 2007, but was disguised as Chinese cartoon in order to get a primetime airslot (5PM-8PM), violating Chinese rule enforced in 2006, in where only Chinese programming were aired on primetime airslot. When someone pointed out that the anime is Japanese, CCTV took notice of the fact to realize that they've got "fooled", taking down the anime series from their channel one month later.
Code Lyoko - Just like the Twin Princess of Wonder Planet example mentioned above, this animated series was once aired in China and only the first two seasons were aired before it was banned permanently from aired Chinese televisions ever again due to it disguised as Chinese animation in order to get a primetime slot.

Sword Art Online - The second season was banned due to differing regulators and how a cut version was available. However, the first season, the movie and the third season were not banned.

DARLING in the FRANXX and Slow Start were banned from Chinese streaming service iQiyi after being reported to the Chinese Ministry of Cultural Affairs. A heated argument between fans of DARLING and Violet Evergarden led to the former being reported for immorality, with Slow Start being banned as well as collateral simply for sharing a producer with ''DARLING'', A-1 Pictures.

KonoSuba has been banned from Chinese streaming sites owing to one of the main characters being voiced by Ai Kayano, who tweeted about Yasukuni Shrine (a shrine that reveres soldiers who fought for Japan, including Imperial soldiers who committed historical recorded atrocities such as the Nanking Massacre and Unit 731) in February 2021.

Beryl and Sapphire - Numerous episodes were kept off the shelf due to depictions of homosexuality.

Super Wings - similar to the Chinese ban on South Park, since early 2021, the videos of Super Wings were taken down from Chinese video websites due to errors found in the map of China, resulting into the ban of the series from CCTV online video streaming service and information about the series were restricted in Chinese internet.

Rabbit Kuang Kuang - currently banned on Chinese video websites due to reference a few other forbidden topics such as the 2008 Chinese milk scandal and the New Campus of Hebei University "10.16" Traffic Accident Escape Case (and its catchphrase delivered by the perpetrator, "My dad is Li Gang", parodied as "My dad is Tiger Gang").

Go Princess Go - This series ended to be banned, with the version allowed missing more than a third of the original. The series was banned because is about a man who ends in a woman's body and falls in love with his/her husband, as well dealing with Time Travel, something that the censors would not accept in the early 2000s.

Towards The Republic - its last episode was censored because it ended with a speech delivered by Sun Yat-sen about the merits of democracy. However, it was unbanned after internet release.

On The Late Show, Craig Ferguson revealed an email he received claiming that his program's internet broadcasts were banned in China. He jokingly took this as a threat, saying that "double entendres and fart jokes are too threatening to the might Chinese Regime", and lamented that they would miss his guest star for the evening, Morgan Freeman.

Anderson Cooper 360 - Portions of the show's broadcast aired from 2 May 2012 onwards on CNN International were blacked out in China when it discussed developments with political activist Chen Guangcheng, particularly when alleged threats made towards Chen and his family by Chinese government were mentioned.

The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, NCIS and The Practice were banned from Chinese video services as of April 2014 for unspecified reasons.

Agent Carter and Empire were removed from Chinese streaming sites by order of the State General Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television in January 2015 due to a new regulation which states that a show's entire first season must be submitted to the government to be reviewed before broadcasting. The previous regulation only required a show to be approved on an episode-by-episode basis.

Doctor Who was previously banned due to its time travel theme; as stated under Movie Censorship, the Chinese government frowns upon positive portrayals of time travel or "inaccurate" depictions of the past. The government would not like people getting the impression thet the pre-Communist era, in particular a monarchy, is preferable. In 2017, BBC Worldwide signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shanghai Media Group Pictures making the revival series, Torchwood and Class available in Mainland China, with first refusal for four series after Series 11 in the event they were commissioned

Many western dramas and tokusatsu series were taken down in 2017 possibly due to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. It seems a ban is now in place.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was banned on Chinese social media after a segment critical of Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping.

In September 2021, Ultraman Tiga and several anime were taken down from all video platforms without explanation. It is unknown why this was done, especially since the Ultraman series has more violent and darker shows than Tiga that are still up. However, Tiga is the most popular Ultraman show in China with the younger generation, with some theorizing that it may have been done to send a message that the Communist Party could ban anything if it wanted too. If that is the case, it backfired due to immense backlash, and Tiga was shortly unbanned even if some episodes are missing.
On 7 January 2016, Netflix made a surprise announcement that they have become available globally, and only four countries remaining can't get them. Three of the countries (Syria, Crimea, and North Korea) remained blocked due to US embargoes. The fourth is China, although Netflix is working on it.
The Simpsons - The episode "Goo Goo Gai Pan", where the family visits China, is banned in China because of the unfavourable reference to Mao Zedong (Homer sees his body displayed in a mausoleum and says "He's like a little angel who killed 50 million people."), scenes parodying the Tiananmen Square Massacre (such as when Selma stands before a Chinese tank) and a Chinese government official saying "Well, Tibet used to be pretty independent."
Bojack Horseman was at least pulled from Netflix due to "adjustments needing to be made to the content".
While Peppa Pig is not banned, considering the big popularity in China, despite claims to the contrary, Douyin (the Chinese edition of TikTok) banned mature videos featuring Peppa Pig, not wanting to endorse a popular gangster interpretation of her, especially to child audiences.
Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra were not ever been released in China, probably due to the Airbenders being an allegory to the oppression of Tibet and the Earth Kingdom (at least in the first series) being an allegory of China in an ancient sense as well to its modern police state. Legend of Korra deals more with the politics and democratization of the world^{[Notes 2]}, which is also a sticking point. Neither the movie has never given a Chinese release. This is part of why it is assumed that the upcoming adaptation is going to be a TV show on Netflix rather than another movie because with the budget it would take to do a movie properly, it would have to come out in China to make its money back.
AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline - this anime was banned from Chinese streaming site Bilibili due to its depiction of the Asian Free Trade Entente as engaging in police brutality, random executions, and human trafficking. As the aformentioned faction is said to be dominated by China and most of the characters shown have Chinese names, it was probably viewed that it was a jab against the current Chinese government.
Wangpai Yushi - This Chinese animated series had its second episode taken off the air. Even if no valid reason has yet been given, it has been speculated that the reason behind its disappearance might be because of a scene featuring a brief cameo of a Winnie-the-Pooh toy, with his face pixelated.
Meijyou/Miqing - this hentai donghua made solely to defy and attack China's censorship laws was banned, although the H-scenes themselves were animated in Japan.

Online censorship in mainland China[]

The Internet in the People's Republic of China mainland is heavily regulated, but not in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Following the "One China, Two Systems" principle, the Internet in those regions are censored not by the mainland China government, thus their Internet access restrictions are different.

Chinese Internet censorship is famous for its "Great Firewall", which filters all traffic through the country and blocks "subversive" or "objectionable" sites. Of course, the Chinese tend to know how to work around this.

Part of the problem is ostensibly easy transfer of information; social network sites like Facebook have been used to coordinate protests and political action the government does not like. But there are Chinese social network sites, search engines, and video sharing sites, which presumably have an easier time monitoring their users and blocking sensitive content.

One way to circumvent the ban is going through a Hong Kong search engine, including Hong Kong's version of Google and Yahoo search, which can be probably accessed through a Chinese hotel's internet connection. Hong Kong is not affected by the Great Firewall, but their sites might have terms of service that prohibit access to certain content from certain regions - which can be bypassed by registering a US account and changing the browser's region.

The ISPs are state-owned enterprises, which means they can control what their customers can see.

Frequently censored words[]

These keywords are affected by the "Great Firewall"; the keywords below are filtered by Chinese ISPs:

民主 (democracy)
天安门母亲 (Tiananmen Mothers)
王丹 (Wang Dan)
法轮功 (Falun Gong), or 法轮 or 轮功
美国之音 (Voice of America)
freenet

Current blocked sites[]

Yahoo Hong Kong

Some Chinese manga websites often restrict access to the Ecchi genre for local IP addresses

On 5 February 2021, illegal Chinese streaming website "House of Anime" (动漫之家) was banned and fined 3 million Yuan for streaming illegal anime (banned in China) containing content such as gore and sexually suggestive imagery.

While most video sharing sites, Youtube among these, everything other than video servers is unblocked on certain college campuses though. However, 4chan is not blocked.

Wikipedia alternates beween full ban and ban of topics such as Taiwan and the Tiananmen Square Massacre. It's more or less un-banned in English since 2013, but Chinese-language Wikipedias are completely blocked outside universities, which charge students for access.
In July 2009, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology encouraged computer manufacturers to include a censoring software called "Green Dam Youth Escort", either pre-installed or on CD, with every computer sold in China. The idea was to help "build a healthy and harmonious online environment that does not poison young people's minds." Of course, it was plagued by the Scunthorpe Problem in its poorly-written pornography filter (which was so sensitive that it even blocked pictures of Garfield and pigs, as they have large area of skin tones, and thus appear to be pornography), a password system that was so broken that it could be "cracked by elementary school students," and alleged plagiarism of blacklists and open source code from other software. The Internet being what it is, Green Dam was also not immune to Moe Anthropomorphism; she even has her very own doujinshi game.
Chinese video streaming website Billibilli have their rules called "Creative Treaty" for its users. This mean that not only you must comply with the laws and rules of China there, but you most not oppose (or mock, make fun of) the "one country, two systems" policy, which refers to China's control of Hong Kong and Macau. This even includes rules against Nazi symbols and a rule that forbids mature videos that can attract young kids and people.
hololive is considered a hot button topic in China that mentions of them are censored and vilified.
- In September 2020, a couple of virtual YouTubers, Haato Akai and Coco Kiryuu, signed onto the aforementioned talent agency, had their Billibilli channels banned due to mentions of Taiwan in their streams. Mounting toxicity on their YouTube streams over the next few days led to both Haato and Coco getting suspended for 3 weeks from 28 September 2020. The continued vitriol against hololive in China led to the dissolution of the hololive CN branch with the Chinese talents "graduating" (that is, retiring)^[35]. The effects of this incident lasted long, with hololive as a whole losing at least one business opportunity by 2021 because of it, and the company mantained a strict "no collabs" ban for Coco^[36] so the Chinese bots that harassed her on a daily basis did not end up on other channels' chats, with these bans being fully overturned by Spring 2021.
- This was taken to the extreme to where because Cover is nowadays considered persona non grata in China, any cameo any hololive member makes on any media is edited out when streamed on Billibilli, for instance, the Fubuki and Matsuri 's cameos in The Detective is Already Dead and the ending of The Great Jahy Will Be Not Defeated! which is sung by Nene, Aqua and Subaru.

A few months after the aforementioned Taiwan-related hololive ban, BilliBilli put out a slew of new website rules directed against virtual streamers, running the gamut from anything which qualifies off-limits content on just about any other website to one humorously specific clause against the furry fandom. Considering how vague a lot of the new rules are, the intent is likely to simply ban virtual streamers in general to prevent "dissent", as mentioning hololive at all continues to be a taboo subject on the website.
kson ONAIR is considered as persona non grata in China, as well to any agency with a large presence on Bilibili, due to an incident in September 2020, where while she worked under her corporate persona at the time, Taiwan was shown in her channel analytics (she did not told "Taiwan", unlike Coco and Haato), which led to the Bilibili account of KSon's corporate persona , as well an account of one of her talents (who also had shown off Taiwan in her channel analytics before that night), being banned, and their agency eventually going out from the Chinese market later that year (including the closure of their Chinese branch as well the graduation of its talents) resulting from the pro-CCP nationalistic toxicity being hurled at the agency and at its Japanese branch talents. The persona non grata status remained with KSon even after her graduation from her corporate persona in July 2021, as during her announcement as a guest for a major livestream by publisher PLAYISM taking place September 2021, she was un-invited at the last minute as a result of the publisher's Chinese branch being warned about said previous corporate persona, and the resultant confusion from this led to the entire livestream being recorded.

Circumvention[]

If you are from mainland China and Hong Kong, and write on websites such as TvTropes about topics banned by China, the Chinese government can read your posts and may be able to find you and punish. Use VPN first before attempting to write for safety reasons.

Video game censorship[]

Due to the large amount of video game piracy in China, many video games are never officially released or localized in China, and translations often are done by fan translation groups. With the rise of online digital distribution platforms, such as Steam, many of the supposedly banned games can be bought in China. in 2019, Valve was in talks of launching a Chinese version of Steam in compliance with Chinese video gaming legislation, featuring curated games only, but has no plans to block the global version of Steam from being accessed by the Chinese government.

Mainland China enforced a near-total ban on video game consoles in 2000, because the government had little control over what was released on them. It was lifted in 2015, allowing the PS4 and the Switch to be released in mainland China.

Winnie the Pooh's chinese name "小熊维尼" was banned in video games such as World of Warcraft, Player Unknowns Battlegrounds, Arena of Valor and Overwatch, resulting into a instaban if typed on chat. As a side effect of this, some players who use this advantage to troll people by forcing them to type the Pooh Bear word just for fun and trolling only, without knowing that the autoban was enforced by "law".

Kingdom Hearts III had the Pooh Bear blurred in white at one Weibo post coverage of the game. However, he wasn't actually censored in the same way in-game.
Hearts of Iron series - these games were banned in China due to its depiction of a fragmented nation split into various warlord factions in the main campaign, beginning on New Year's Day 1936, as well for having Tibet depicted as independent state under the rule of the Lamas. A mod featuring an unified China was approved by the Chinese censors.
Many historical-based strategy games such as Age of Empires, Total War and Civilization avoid having civilizations such as the Tibetans and the Uyghurs as playable factions to avoid the above-mentioned trend. In particular, both the developers of Age of Empires II (Ensemble Studios) and the revival expansion The Forgotten (Forgotten Empires) have stated that they considered the Tibetans as a faction in the past, but have not given an official explanation to why they were never included. Skybox Labs, which helped develope the spin-off Age of Mythology did say that they would not include Tibetans for fear of losing the Chinese market, where the franchise is relatively popular. The fact that dead soldiers no longer decay into skeletons in the Definitive Edition remakes of both Age of Empires and Age of Empires II doesn't have an official explanation either, but many fans are certain that it is due to concerns about breaking Chinese cultural taboos against the depiction of human bones.
Terranigma - this game was banned for its positive depiction of the Dalai Lama (Lord Kumari).
Civilization IV - The Chinese version had Mao Zedong replaced by Emperor Tang Taizong as one of the leaders of China due to political sensivities.
In a twist of irony, in Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis 4, Tibet is a playable faction and neither game is banned in China. A plausible reason is that the games feature historical kingdoms of Tibet such as Yarlung and Guge, while the Chinese censors are only concerned with depictions of Tibet during the 20th century.
Despite some Command & Conquer games having been banned in China, this did not meant that these are some of the most played and modded games in the Middle Kingdom:
- Commander & Conquer Generals - Zero Hour expansion was banned for allegedly smearing China and the People's Liberation Army, despite being an heroic (yet brutal, opressive and prone to use nukes and napalm to obliterate anything) faction aside from the USA. This relates with the depiction of a GLA nuclear attack in Tiananmen Square in the beginning of the Chinese Campaign in the original game as well in the third Chinese mission, where the objective is to destroy the Three-Gorges Dam to drown the GLA, which hits close home in mainland China, as well how players can play foreign factions against the Chinese Army depicted in the game.
- Some copies of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 had the campaign cutscenes abridged, even though the in-game voices are without subtitles. It turned out that only pirated versions had this effect, due to the need to compress the game into one disc.
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - This game is popular in China despite being banned, due to China not being big on either the Soviet Union during the Cold War or Japan in various other conflicts.
- The original Command & Conquer: Red Alert however, was not banned, despite its heavy anti-Soviet themes and still is one of the most popular video games in China.
I.G.I.-2 Covert Strike - This game was banned for "defaming a national character" months after initially passing the censorship board - that is, for having a chinese general as an homicidal maniac. It later turned out that the publisher sent to the censors an incomplete version of the game that omitted the China-set levels, in order to elude the ban.
People's General - This game never had an official release in Chian due to its China Takes Over the World campaign, where the Chinese force invade Russia and Taiwan, drawing the United States into World War III.
P.T.O. - The third entry of the franchise was never released outside of Japan, due to the cancellation of an attempt of translating the game into Chinese being cancelled after the Chinese localization staff quitted to protest the ability offered by the game to play as Japanese forces in the Second Sino-Japanese War, which in China is a highly sensitive topic. As a consequence, the fourth entry of the franchise removed all battles set in China.
Battlefield 4 -This game was reported by news reports in China to be banned for allegedly discrediting China's national image and presenting a threat to national security as a "cultural invasion", with many sites in China banning "Battlefield 4" as a keyword. However, since day 1 the game is completely playable in China. Sale of the game on retail platforms is prohibited, but Origin can still be downloaded without a VPN and Battlefield 4 can be bought and downloaded through it. A few years later, the ban on the game has been lifted.

V1yvfes 4 — Chinese censorship screen of Devotion. It translates as "*According to the related laws, this software will not run in your country. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation."*

Devotion - This game by Red Candle Games was banned due to a placeholder image found in the game referencing Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, compared to Winnie the Pooh. The game, was released on Steam in February 2019. When nationalistic Chinese netizens found out the placeholder art, they began review bombing Devotion and then, made claims that the plot and other references were expressions of anti-mainland China sentiment by the Taiwanese developers. The situation made Red Candle remove the game from Steam and every mention of it on its official site, and the Chinese publisher had its license revoked. Since 15 March 2021, Red Candle launched its own storefront to sell the game on, but the re-release of the game is region-locked from China, meaning that if a Chinese user tries to play the game, it will result a Chinese warning message stating that the game is prohibited by law.

In October 2019, Blizzard Entertainment was the target of boycott calls, after it suspended professional Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung for 12 months for "violating official competition rules", which some critics speculated as politically-driven due to Chung being a vocal supporter of the Hong Kong protests. This was seen as pandering to the lucrative Chinese market by Blizzard, even if the latter did not took direct orders from the Great Firewall.
Plague Inc. was removed from Steam and all app stores in the Chinese market, after a few weeks of increases in the playerbase, both due to the COVID-19 pandemic originated in the country.
Imports and livestreams of Animal Crossing: New Horizons were banned after Hong Kong protestors discovered that they could use the in-game communication system to criticise the government and spread their views uncensored. Even if the official reason given by the government was due to Wisp the ghost being in the game, causing some great concern with game modding community in China, fearing that any user-created digital content would require approval by the state to modders (to prevent spreading of dissent) and many Chinese modders are hosted in the Steam Workshop (although since circa 2018, non-VPN Chinese network access ban the community part of the global version of Steam, but not the store and the client page).
The "Community" section of Steam (including reviews, discussions and Workshop) was banned in China. However, many users managed to circumvent the ban. In 2020, a specially curated version of Steam was launched in China under the server and local publisher Perfect World Entertainment. The international version of Steam is banned as a whole in China. For a short time, China banned the international version of Steam before reverting to the rule of banning the community section only, while leaving the store and the game accessible. The Chinese can still access the banned parts via a VPN though
In many stores, game publishers need to have a special license from the Chinese government to be allowed to publish games in China, otherwise, people would get a message of "your game was approved for the store, but its not allowed in China".
Any domestic-made game featuring Ai Kayano, notably Arknights, Azur Lane and Girls Frontline, as voice actress were forced to remove her voice clips due to her tweet about "nice air" in Yasukuni Shrine in February 2021, by pressure from netizens.
Cytus II - this game was briefly pulled from Chinese app markets in July 2020 due to ICE, one of the music artists employed with the developer Rayark, having produced a song with a hidden "Free Hong Kong" message in Morse code, even though the song was made as personal work rather than as part of any Rayark game. The game would later be unbanned in China, but with some of his songs removed, and ICE resigned from Rayark to take the heat off of them.
Due to China's increasingly strict censorship of non-conservative values in 2021, even to the extent to censor anything that depicts men as not being manly enough in extension to the LGBT ban, approval of both foreign and domestic video games is practically frozen in mid 2021 and continues to be so in early 2022.
Diablo Immortal - this game by Blizzard Entertainment was met with extreme hatred in their home due to how it pandered so much with the Chinese market, which were actually okay with microtransactions and in-game purchases with real money to give a feel of 'pay to win' (but in the West, the home base of Blizzard, those are extremely hated). Later, Blizzard's official Weibo account made a rather unprofessional comment referring to a certain bear and asking why it hasn't taken action. Most and even China take it that they're committing the known offense of 'never refer to Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh when you're in China' (while the Weibo direct translation only referred to 'bear', a redditor translation interpreted it as directly referring to Winnie the Pooh), and so the game got banned from ever releasing in their primary target market in the first place. It is unknown if it's the ban would be permanent or how long the ban would last, however.
Super Mario Maker 2 - this game was suddenly taken down from Chinese e-commerce websites for unknown reasons. However, as reported across Chinese-language media, it was alleged that it was banned due to user-made levels which were full of mockery and satires of the Chinese government. However, this was not known to non-Chinese viewers until the YouTube channel "Censored Gaming" covered it.
- As pointed out before, the Super Mario Maker 2 and Animal Crossing: New Horizon cases caused some great concern with the modding community in China, fearing that subsequently any created digital content would require approval by the state to be published (in order to prevent spreading of dissent) and the Stream Workshop hosts many Chinese modders.
One Piece: Fighting Path - while this game was not banned, the character Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard) had his voice clips muted. According to the Chinese censors, it was alleged that his voice actor, Akio Otsuka, "offending Chinese people", but the actual reason is still unknown as of today.
Ensemble Stars - while not outright banned, the creators of this card-collecting game, Happy Elements, had an incident where they were talking about an in-game event on Weibo. In the post, they had to mention one of the characters, Midori Takamine (高峯翠, Takamine Midori). However, the kanji on his name, specifically the "Midori" kanji (翠), which in Chinese, it could be interpreted as "Xi (as in the current Chinese President, Xi Jinping) dies twice" and it was banned on Weibo. Happy Elements eluded this by using the romaji (Midori) instead of the kanji, but the end result of '高峯 Midori' instead of '高峯翠' certainly piqued the interest of the Chinese netizens, especially since Midori's name is the only one to get this treatment. Surprisingly, the same kanji was not censored in the pictures included in the post.
Project I.G.I. 2 - Covert Strike - while the previous game, Project I.G.I., was not banned, the sequel, Project I.G.I. 2 - Covert Strike, is banned roughly six months after its release^[37] due to the revelation that the game's main villain, General Wu Xing, is a rogue Chinese official in league with Russian terrorists behind the theft of a superweapon, intending to overthrow the "weak" Chinese government, starting a war with the West. Despite the game stating that Wu Xing is a "rogue" official and the actual Chinese government is not involved, it was still withdrawn from Chinese markets due to "tarnishing their military's image".
Cookie Run: Kingdom - One of the playable characters in the game, Pastry Cookie, had her design drastically changed as it resembled too close to religion, and had her background changed that she was part of an academy. The skulls on GingerBrave's buttons and Licorice Cookie's neck were altered to resemble normal buttons and circle-like shapes with swirls respectively.

Censorship of other material[]

Xi Obama Pooh Tigger — A meme comparing Xi Jinping and Barack Obama to Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger respectively, which contributed to the banning of Winnie-the-Pooh in mainland China.

All Winnie-the-Pooh works are banned as of 2017 after memes comparing Pooh to Xi Jinping circulated widely across the Chinese internet and abroad. Importation of Winnie-the-Pooh material to mainland China was outlawed. The public display of Winnie-the-Pooh in China was outlawed, which led to the film Christopher Robin being banned there. Although Winnie-the-Pooh became public domain in 2022, it remains illegal to distribute Winnie-the-Pooh material into mainland China.

What started as Chinese president Xi Jinping and former US president Barack Obama's meeting in 2013 being compared to a image of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger walking together, evolved into the President of China being compared to the yellow teddy bear for his various actions, as a running joke. Since 2017-2018, online references to Pooh Bear are often blocked in Chinese internet. Unfortunately, to netizens of other countries outside of Mainland China where jokes are a major part of political discussion, this came off as Chinese president Xi being thin-skinned, fueling memers to cause an explosion of content for what was once a minor meme. However, this often gets misunderstood as Winnie the Pooh itself being banned in China, which is not the case, as a Winnie the Pooh ride exist in Shanghai Disneyland, and the ordinary context (if is non-political context with president Xi) were still allowed.

The Epoch Times was banned because it was founded by Falun Gong members, reported on Chinese-sensitive topics, contained works written by Falun Gong members which criticize and oppose the ruling Chinese Communist Party, and even has another website (as a part of ''The Epoch Times)'' which allows Chinese mainland users with VPN to write their reasons on why they decided to quit the Communist Party.

Book censorship[]

Chung Kuo series - This series of books, written by David Wingrove, is banned in China for portraying a bleak Chinese future where society went back to the Warlords era.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - This book about the Cultural Revolution, persecution of scholars and book burning, was banned. Since this is one of the books studied in Hong Kong international schools, there have been cases of students having their copies unexpectedly confiscated.

China Tidal Wave - this book is banned in China as the Tiananmen Square Massacre is mentioned repeatedly, and as well as a (realistic) portrayal of what would happen if China (with billions of people and a ton of nukes) became a failed state. It also depicts the fall of the CCP which they view as a huge insult.

Surprisingly, contrary to what most might expect, George Orwell's 1984 is readily available.

Wild Swans - This story about Jung Chang's family's history and sufferings they endured during the Cultural Revolution, is banned.

The Last Days of Old Beijing - This book about the three years Michal Meyer spent living in one of the hutongs while teaching English, was banned for five years, possibly for depicting the lives of poor residents struggling to save their historic neighborhoods from urban renewal projects spearheaded by corrupt officials for their developer friends. Apparently, the real reason is that it shows mainland China and Taiwan in different colors on a map in the frontispiece. Five years after its publication in the United States, the ban was lifted and Meyer was sent on a book tour by his Chinese publisher. By his count, the Chinese edition still cut almost a page's worth of passages. Meyer himself said "Better 400 pages of book than no book at all. In China you take what you can get".

Any travel book centered around Taiwan or Tibet, listing their country as separate from China on the map or mentioning the Dalai Lama, is banned in China, extending to books focused on the mainland, but listing either country as separate.

Green Eggs and Ham - This Dr. Seuss book was outlawed in 1965, claiming it portrayed early Marxism. However, the ban was lifted in 1991 and the book was released in simplified Chinese afterwards.

In the 1930s, before the Communists took over China, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was banned for representing civilized animals. The censors deemed that presenting animals as equal to humans was a bad message to give impressionable children.

The novel Long Live The Emperor cannot be mentioned, as, according to a defector, "Long live" (Wansui) is considered be "forever". While the current Chinese leader Xi Jinping is paramount leader forever due to him having removed the term limits on the Chinese president, also no term limits on the CCP general secretary, no one is allowed to talk about that.

As Maoist China was staunchly atheist, The Bible was banned along all foreign religion during his reign. Even if the Chinese Communist Party still has an antipathy towards organized religion (except Taoism), since the 1990s they became to a certain degree tolerant of Christianity and Judaism being practiced.
Various works written by Shen Congwen in 1902 were "Denounced by the Communists and Nationalists alike, Mr. Shen saw his writings banned in Taiwan, while mainland China publishing houses burned his books and destroyed printing plates for his novels. .... So successful was the effort to erase Mr. Shen's name from the modern literary record that few younger Chinese today recognize his name, much less the breadth of his work. Only since 1978 has the Chinese Government reissued selections of his writings, although in editions of only a few thousand copies.... In China, his passing was unreported." His works were unbanned in 1988.
Lady Chatterley's Lover - the Chinese translation of this novel by Rao Shu-yi was denied open publication by China's Central Bureau in 1936, and it ordered booksellers to stop advertising and selling the novel.
Xing Fengsu (Sexual Customs) - this book was banned in 1989 for insulting Islam.
Zhuan Falun - this spiritual book by Li Hongzhi was banned in mainland China on the basis of being outside of the communist apparatus, according to Stephen Chan writing in Global Society, an international relations journal.
Beijing Coma - this novel by Ma Jian was banned in mainland China.
Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962 - this non-fiction book by Yang Jisheng, while was published in Hong Kong, it was banned in mainland China.
Big River, Big Sea – Untold Stories of 1949 - this non-fiction book by Lung Ying-tai, which sold over 100,000 copies in Taiwan and 10,000 in Hong Kong in its first month of release, had discussion of her work banned in mainland China following the book launch.
The Sassoon Files - this role-playing game adventure book supplement for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game set in 1920s Shanghai, had all copies printed and due to ship out were ordered to be destroyed by the Government of China for unspecified reasons.
The Adventures of Tintin - During Mao Zedong's regime, two Tintin comic book albums, The Blue Lotus and Tintin in Tibet were not available, while other Tintin stories were. After the death of Mao, the stories were eventually released, but the title of Tintin in Tibet was changed into Tintin in Chinese Tibet due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the 1950s. The title was changed back after a lawsuit carried out by Tintin's author Hergé and his lawyers . The first comic book, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, was never released in China due to its Anti-Communist Message.

Manga censorship[]

Yaoi manga were suppressed, banned and regulated in mainland China (and to a certain extent, to Hong Kong) for fears that "reading too much [yaoi] material would change [girls'] sexual orientation somehow". However, a couple of Yaoi magazines such as Bolo and 801 Kano are still being published as special issues of other publications.
My Hero Academia was banned preceded by backlash from local readers after it was leaked that an evil scientist previously know as the Doctor's real name would be "Maruta Shiga", as "Maruta" was the Japanese code name for human experimentation conducted during Unit 731 during World War II, opening some old wounds for the Chinese government. Kohei Morikoshi - the author - and the publisher issued an apology and promised to change the name, but the damage was already done.
Assassination Classroom was banned in 2015 due to its depiction of violence (namely, gun violence) towards teachers.

Other[]

In August of 2022, a Chinese woman was detained in Suzhou for wearing a kimono in public (she was cosplaying as Summer Time Rendering's female lead Ushio), with the local police even accusing her of being a race traitor for wearing a traditional garb worn by one of their sworn enemies.

Notes[]

↑ https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/12/1/n13876438.htm
↑ One of the characters, Suyin, is an avowed republican and the Earth Queen straight-up gets murdered in the third season by a group of anarchists. There's no way the Chinese government would allow a show with their fantastical equivalent's leader getting brutually murdered past the censors.

References[]

External links[]

Censorship in China at Wikipedia

[35] ttps://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/12/1/n13876438.htm

[36] One of the characters, Suyin, is an avowed republican and the Earth Queen straight-up gets murdered in the third season by a group of anarchists. There's no way the Chinese government would allow a show with their fantastical equivalent's leader getting brutually murdered past the censors.

[1] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160810225936/http://www.zznews.gov.cn/news/2013/0328/article_87208_1.html

[2] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120401172718/http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2004-12/16/content_2342492.htm

[3] ttp://phtv.ifeng.com/program/tfzg/200902/0205_2950_996630.shtml

[4] ttp://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-12-02/1344915181.html

[5] ttp://www.bjnews.com.cn/ent/2012/03/22/189700.html

[6] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160813093244/http://story.inewsweek.cn/detail-557-2.html

[7] ttps://archive.org/details/womenfilmdirecto0000fost/page/192

[8] ttps://yule.sohu.com/20080222/n255305453.shtml

[9] ttp://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2016-04-21/doc-ifxrpvcy4275700.shtml

[10] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160815232902/http://www.1905.com/vod/play/888458.shtml

[11] ttps://letterboxd.com/film/sun-and-man/

[12] ttps://movie.douban.com/subject/2200853/

[13] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160813093244/http://story.inewsweek.cn/detail-557-2.html

[14] ttps://movie.douban.com/subject/4154640/

[15] ttp://yule.sohu.com/86/44/earticle163414486.shtml

[16] ttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-18-mn-50104-story.html

[17] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20220217010601/http://news.sohu.com/20090727/n265507882.shtml

[18] ttps://jp.reuters.com/article/idCNCHINA-72320090715

[19] ttps://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/world/asia/12iht-picture.html

[20] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20161009151747/http://mt.sohu.com/20160825/n465841778.shtml

[21] ttp://www.sohu.com/a/85874400_251823

[22] ttps://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/no-ghosts-allowed/411940/

[23] ttp://ent.sina.com.cn/2003-09-01/0955194366.html

[24] ttps://yule.sohu.com/21/28/article213092821.shtml

[25] ttp://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2006-01-25/0605971025.html?from=wap

[26] ttp://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2006-01-25/0854971124.html

[27] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160304221826/http://yule.sohu.com/20060517/n243269839.shtml

[28] ttp://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2006-09-04/09151229884.html

[29] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110721213956/http://www.sarft.gov.cn/articles/2008/01/03/20080103170651960259.html

[30] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160305185541/http://ent.news.cn/2008-01/04/content_7363219.htm

[31] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160408204708/http://www.jiaodong.net/wenhua/system/2009/03/31/010493027.shtml

[32] ttp://www.naol.ca/news/na/1008/0815-5.htm

[33] ttps://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/minions-the-rise-of-gru-new-ending-china-local-censors-192341480.html

[34] ttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/entertainment-us-django-china-idUSBRE93P1AI20130426

[37] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/VirtualYoutubers/comments/jfxtt9/civia_talked_about_the_future_of_holocn/

[38] <small>A deal by Asus to have Fubuki promote their hardware on her channel was suddenly revoked after a Chinese Asus community manager warned the company about Coco.</small>

[39] The original copy passed censor inspection due to being incomplete and lacking the last six levels with China-involved content

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v · d · eCensorship by country

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